Gradina Sludge Impoundment – ArcelorMittal Omarska

Above remediation value

Prijedor Industrial site Site ID: BiH-RS-27 Report date: 2025-09-03

Note. This is a preliminary assessment. The general conclusion of the report is that the location requires further detailed analysis. The data shown is not a final risk determination.

Media tested

Soil
Subsoil
Sediment
Water

Summary

The site is the Gradina sludge impoundment, an industrial facility for depositing sludge from iron-ore processing within the ArcelorMittal mining complex in Prijedor. It was formed by building an earthen dam across a natural valley, creating a closed basin for settling sludge over about 119 hectares, almost without vegetation and with no residential buildings. This is the most contaminated of the three surveyed sites in the complex: in the deposited material, copper, nickel and cadmium reached a level indicating that cleanup is needed, and selenium reached that level in part of the deposits and in the lake sediment. In the impoundment lake several metals were above water-quality limits, while pollution linked to oil stayed within limits.

Assessment findings

Findings of concern

In the deposited material, in the surface and deeper layers, copper, nickel and cadmium reached a level indicating that cleanup is needed, and selenium reached that level in part of the deposits and in the lake sediment — the most serious findings at the site.
In the impoundment lake, copper, cobalt, lead and manganese were above water-quality limits, and cadmium was above the limit in the stream flowing off the site.
Cobalt, zinc and molybdenum were above the level at which land is no longer considered clean in parts of the deposited material.

Positive findings

Lead, chromium, zinc and arsenic stayed within remediation limits in the deposited material and sediment.
Oil-related pollutants and combustion-related compounds were within limits in the soil and sediment.
At the second lake sampling point the tested substances met the water-quality limits, and oil-related and combustion-related pollutants met the limits throughout the water.

Photo gallery

The project results have been submitted to the competent institutions as a basis for improving regulation and for strategic planning of further activities.

Legal basis

Rulebook on limit and remediation values of polluting, harmful and hazardous substances in soil (Official Gazette of RS No. 82/21)
Decree on water classification and watercourse categorization (Official Gazette of RS No. 42/01)

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